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Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Games Deserving of HD Remakes: The HD Remake

As Rob discussed in his article this week, there are many games out there that are just screaming for an HD (ie. an entirely new definition of the term that has nothing to do with the definition or how high it is) remake. Anyway, here’s my suggestions, should anyone want to listen. Basically this is pretty much the same deal as Rob’s article.

Only better.

Sunset Riders

I have harped on about how awesome this platform game was back in the early days of E14. Produced by Konami it saw you as one of four gun-totin’, tobacco-chewin’, cow-pokin, the-hell-i-won’t-ing bounty hunters, blasting your way through wave upon wave of bad guys to take down the big bad boss at the end for money.

The graphics are dated now, obviously, but the speed and action of the game isn’t. This is a great, fun, action blaster, which sees you running across the top of speeding trains, dodging stampedes and blasting down no-gooders of every shape and size.

Simply, Sunset Riders is a great action game. Given a boost to the graphics and the sound levels, very little extra would need to be changed. There have been some successful Western themed games in recent years, but surprisingly few and far between considering how well the genre lends itself to the video games medium (lone protagonist uses guns to take down lots of bad guys in the name of truth and justice). Sunset Riders would be a great one to test the market with if anyone doubts me. I mean, come on, Konami, you did a HD remake of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time...was there really a market for that other than Blake and I?

It Came From The Desert!

This was basically a game based on the classic 50s sci-fi movie Them!, as it sees a little desert town overrun by giant, radioactively mutated ants. The system was a simple, but highly effective, one. The bulk of the adventuring was multiple choice options – it was essentially like playing a gamebook – interspersed with various arcade bits when it came to a conflict (flying a plane to spy on the ants, shooting their antennae down, getting into a knife fight with the local greasers, etc). It was great fun, and a when you think about what they’re able to do with facial animations these days, they could really make this look awesome.

Plus, it’s a great way to run an adventure, and it’s amazing more games didn’t do the same. You had the freedom to take the story in the direction you wanted to go, but because you knew the progression had to be one of the options, you weren’t left staring at the screen in frustration for hours on end because you couldn’t figure out some stupid puzzle.

Man, I miss this game so much.

Dune

Even before I’d gotten around to reading the book (which is now my join first favourite novel ever, alongside Dracula), I was obsessed with the first Dune game on PC. Unlike its sequels, which took a much more mainstream Command and Conquer clone approach, the first Dune game was a strategy/RPG adventure which cast you as Paul Atreides, as you had to use persuasion and business sense to make friends with the local Fremen so that they would begin mining spice for you...and later to fight for you against the Harkonnens.

What was great about this, though, was that it gradually unfolded the world around you in a way that made you feel that you could do anywhere and do anything that you wanted, without ever making you feel lost or dwarfed by the scale of the planet – and this was years before The Elder Scrolls or Fallout series.

There were several nice touches too, like to save your game, you had to go into your bedroom at the Atreides palace and look into the mirror...and you got a startle when – after a few days in the desert – your eyes had turned blue!

Plus there was nothing quite like the satisfaction you got the first time you managed to ride a Shai-Hulud.

This needs a HD remake because it is, quite frankly, a game that needs preserving and remembering. Plus there’s all sorts of chances there to give it a face-lift to more closely resemble the awesome Sci-Fi Channel mini-series from a few years back.

Come on, guys! You know this needs doing!

Words: Brad HarmerYou can become Brad's "friend" on Facebook, or you can "follow" him on Twitter. Depends how creepy you want to sound really.BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LET IN

A once successful painter David (Mads Mikkelsen) has lost control over his life after being responsible for the death of his seven-year-old daughter. One day, five years later, he discovers a door which will give him the opportunity to turn back time and prevent her death. What initially appears to be a wonderful chance for a new beginning soon turns out to be something far more sinister as everything from David's past is not as it seems.

Mysterious and terrifying, The Door is a gripping thriller that doesn't let go.

Thanks to our friends at Optimum Home Entertainment, we've got three copies of The Door on DVD to give away! For your chance of winning, send your name and full postal address to emotionally14@hotmail.co.uk before midday on Wednesday 20th April, making sure to put "The Door" as the subject. The first three entries out of the electronic hat after the competition closes will receive a free copy!

Don't forget to put "The Door" in the subject line. Incorrectly labelled or blank entries will be discarded.

the Door is available on DVD from Monday 18th April, priced £17.99.

Entries limited to one per household. Offer open only to postal addresses in the UK and Ireland.